Austrian in Chinatown

Oktober Fest
Block 335 Smith Street, Chinatown Market and Food Centre, #02-83
Tel: 9150-4628

THESE days, instead of the piped-in strains of Mozart, it's thumping techno beats and the ringing of trishaw bells that accompany the semmelknodel (bread dumplings) and saft gulasch (beef goulash) served up by Austrian Anton Wiesmann and his Singaporean wife, Veronica.

The couple, who used to own the bistro Wiener Kaffeehaus along Neil Road, sold their shophouse and moved the business to Chinatown Food Centre two months ago. They are migrating to Australia in a month's time but their staff will continue to run the eatery, renamed Oktober Fest for licensing reasons.

Says Mrs Wiesmann: 'The move to Chinatown took some getting used to because the atmosphere and crowd are very different from that at our previous location. But we've settled in and the other stall-holders have made us feel welcome by filling us in on all the in-house gossip and 'rules'!'

The menu is a leaner version of what it used to be at Wiener Kaffeehaus, but the upside is that many of the favourites remain - and at prices more suited to the new location.

The hind pork knuckle, a premium cut that was priced at $38 at the bistro, is now $22. It tastes just as good too, the crispy pork crackle giving way to melt-in-the-mouth fat and succulent meat that has been soaked in beer before the joint is put in the oven.